The government plans to improve eco-tourism by focusing on forests in Najafgarh, Asola and Garhi Mandu with the help of Delhi Tourism.

To address the environmental issues prevailing in the capital like trafficking of wildlife, reduced forest cover, increasing pollution and more, the city of New Delhi decided to try to walk on the green road.

Delhi is currently in a fight with the environmental concerns in the city and is taking corrective actions to reduce and ultimately eliminate them. The theme of the government in the capital on world environment day was to act against trafficking of the wildlife.

Children raised issues on pollution and environment through poems and skit plays in a plantation drive that was held in the city on June 5, 2016. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself planted a sapling before releasing parakeets as a symbol of the fight against the misuse of wild animals.

As per the reports of the forest department, the forest cover grew from 20.08 pc to 20.22 pc in one year with an increase of approximately 300 hectares. Looking at the growth, the government has planned to plant 1 million trees and 0.5 million saplings by 2017. “One fully grown tree can support a family of four for life, so we urge everyone to plant a tree and do it for the environment,” said A K Shukla, chief wildlife warden.

The government also plans to improve eco-tourism by focusing on forests in Najafgarh, Asola and Garhi Mandu with the help of Delhi Tourism.

Recycling the electronic waste

In a bid to solve Delhi’s electronic waste woes, an event was organised by a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) Chintan, at Select Citywalk mall in Delhi on June 5, where thousands of people disposed their old electronic items for the purpose of recycling.

The NGO informed people about how electronic waste is processed and encouraged them to dispose it into the boxes provided by them. They also explained the mechanisms of recycling, raised awareness and made consumers sign a pledge for proper disposal of electronic waste.

According to a report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (Assocham), only 2.5 pc of the e-waste generated in India reaches an authorised recycler as people are not aware about how to deal with their electronic waste and where they can dispose it.

All for a good cause

The United Nations launched a global campaign called ‘Wild For Life’ that aims at ending the illegal trade of wildlife. To support the cause, the wildlife trade monitoring network, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other groups organised an event to spread awareness about the issue.

As part of the programme, children were asked to paint endangered animals on cloth, towels and t-shirts. “Our focus is to teach children about why animals are being killed. We’re spreading awareness through paintings and short films,” said Ruchi Pant, a UNDP representative.

Eco corridors and green circuits

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), announced a plan named ‘The Green Circuit’, which will aim at connecting all the green areas in the city through ecological corridors.

To emphasis on the need and necessity of the wetlands, the Yamuna Biodiversity Park organised an event on world environment day where the DDA spoke openly about this plan.

The poor quality of groundwater is a grave concern and even Yamuna has high amount of metals, which is something that the government and the people should be concerned about.

More than 100 students from various Delhi University (DU) colleges, along with researchers, environmentalists and landscape architects attended the event.
“We have successfully restored 100 acres of wetlands near Wazirabad and are planning to the same at other places,” said Dr Faiyaz Khudsar, scientist in charge at YBP.